Cold Core Warm Heart
by GreyLiliy
Summary: [Pitch Pearl/Split Danny & Phantom AU] Phantom would really like to know if it's too much to ask for Danny to stay out of the line of fire when there are vicious ghosts around. The boy's clumsy and if Phantom had blood pressure, he's sure it would be rising. Phantom and Danny work together to share one body and one fight.


**_PhannieMay15 Day #29 - End_**

 _Decided to do a little AU Pitch Pearl (Well, Gen Pitch Pearl.) and do some Phantom & Fenton interactions. I've been itching to do something with the idea of Phantom & Danny being separate beings for a while, anyway. Going with the "Phantom escaped the Ghost Zone during the accident and latched onto Danny" route. Only they can, you know, split apart. Phantom just likes/loves possessing him. However it works, enjoy!_

 _(This is also the loosest I'm interpreting a theme. The word 'End' is in the dialogue that prompted this fic, so it counts. XD)_

* * *

 **Cold Core; Warm Heart**

"You are going to be the end of me, I can feel it," Phantom said, dropping Danny onto the rooftop. The boy stumbled a bit before frowning at him. Phantom floated near him and lifted up his arm, pointing very determinedly at the large, bleeding gash in his arm. "I don't go through all the trouble of splitting us apart for you to join up in the battle anyway!"

"Says the guy who was trapped in Skulker's new little toy he got from Vlad until I pressed the off switch," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "The Ghost Equipment doesn't work on me, remember? Human?

"Besides, I can't end you," Danny scoffed, "You're already dead."

"Yes, I remember, and that's not the point," Phantom said, dropping Danny's arm. He crossed his arms and huffed. "You got hurt."

"And Skulker could have 'ended' you by shoving you in a cage in his lair for the rest of your after life," Danny said, rolling his eyes. "No thank you?"

"I could have gotten out myself," Phantom said. He shook his head and pointed. "And stop distracting me. You're bleeding!"

"It's a cut," Danny said, holding his arm up. He dropped his backpack down and pulled out a clean rag to catch the blood. "And stop freaking out. Dash did worse when he failed his midterm last week. Remember? Accidentally shoved me into that rusty wire fence behind the Nasty Burger?"

"I do," Phantom said. "And as I recall, you complained about it for a week."

"I think that was you," Danny said, slinging his backpack up over his other shoulder. "You're worse than my mom sometimes, you know that?"

"Forgive me," Phantom said, rolling his eyes and floating above Danny's head as he started to talk across the roof toward the downstairs door. "Didn't know you were in such a hurry to join me in the Ghost Zone."

"I think I'll try and put that one off until I've at least had the joy of owning my own car," Danny said. He paused at the door and sighed. "You coming in, or planning to vent some more up here over a cut?"

"Coming in," Phantom said. He floated down and overshadowed Danny as easily as putting on a shirt. Danny's blue eyes blinked away to green and back to blue before he opened the door. "I'm more concerned for your well being than angry."

"Sounded more like angry than worried, but if you say so," Danny said, shivering before blowing out a hot breath and rubbing his arms. Phantom couldn't help the chuckle that escaped Danny's lips and the boy rolled his eyes. "You are an ice box."

"Guilty," Phantom said, holding the compress tightly on Danny's arm as he skipped down the steps of the upper portion of Danny's home. His cold core was safe and hidden, secure inside Danny's heart, but it did come with the little side effect of a temperature drop. "Part of the dead thing."

"How could I forget?" Danny said, he reached the bottom of the stairs and whispered, "Now be quiet for a bit, I think Jazz is up."

"Right," Phantom said.

The biggest downfall of sharing a body, was having to share the body. If they wanted to talk to each other, they had to take turns using the mouth to do so. When they were alone, it wasn't so bad. They swapped back and forth naturally and it helped conversations along when they couldn't speak over top of each other. Both Phantom and Danny had to wait their turn.

However, from an outsider's perspective, even Phantom would admit poor Danny would look a bit off having a conversation with himself. He wasn't sure if the pitch of their voice changed too noticeably when they swapped, but it wasn't something he wanted to risk.

It was bad enough being a ghost hiding from his Ghost Hunter parents, let alone trying to convince someone Danny didn't need therapy for voices in his head.

Danny kept quiet as he tip toed into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him and blew his hair out of his face as he set his bag on the ground and pulled back the rag. He turned on the faucet and ran it under the sink.

Phantom kept quiet as Danny cleaned the wound and wrapped it with a fresh bandage. He felt a bit like a puppet on strings as Danny controlled the limbs, and he was dragged along with it. In a way, it was oddly relaxing letting someone else have all the control. In another, it was intensely disturbing having no control. Though that wasn't quite true, as the stronger of the two, Phantom could take control whenever he wanted. He had the power here.

That was both reassuring and terrifying; the responsibility to avoid abusing such power was overwhelming at times.

"I need to start wearing longer shirts," Danny muttered to himself as he tugged on the edge of his shirt sleeve. "The cut's too low for this to cover."

"We'l have to think on an excuse for that," Phantom said. He took momentary control and turned the body to get a better look at the wrapped arm in the mirror. Danny allowed it, and that soothed Phantom. It was nice when they got along. "As long as no one checks underneath, we can brush it off as something minor."

"Could always say I tripped," Danny snorted. "Between all those broken beakers and falling over my desk when we were trying to see if you could use your powers through me, everyone in the school already thinks I'm a klutz."

"True, but if we use that excuse too much, they're going to think someone's hurting you," Phantom sighed. "This is why I want you to stay out of the fights."

"Look," Danny said, holding the edge of the sink. He watched his own face in the mirror, something he often did to help catch the change in their expressions when Phantom took over. "You're not the only one who gets worried, okay? You were trapped, Skulker was going to leave, and if he did, I'd never find you again and who knows what he would have done. You never turn your back on me, so I'm not going to do it to you."

"You're right," Phantom said. He licked his lips and blinked, watching his green eyes take over in the mirror. Phantom squeezed the edge of the sink and sucked in a heavy breath through Danny's lungs. "We're a team the rest of the time, so maybe we should start learning how to cooperate more during these ghostly assaults as well."

"Would definitely make things easier than trying to hide in the corner while you get beat up," Danny laughed, blinking back to his own blue eyes. He scratched the back of his hair and chuckled. "And before you argue, you do get beat up a lot. Even when you win."

"If you say so," Phantom said. He took control and pushed off the mirror, gathering Danny's bag and things off the ground. "Either way, we should go to bed. You've got school in the morning and we're likely going to be late as it is."

"So help me, if it's the box ghost one more time," Danny muttered, letting Phantom keep control as they left the bathroom.

Phantom passed by Jazz's room and turned into Danny's. He put the bag on the floor and tugged off his shirt in the same motion that he closed the door behind them. Phantom folded Danny's shirt neatly, and stuck it on the messy pile Danny had left earlier before tugging out some pajamas. The thick flannel felt hot as he tugged it over their head, but it was better than Danny shivering all night.

"Hey, Phantom?" Danny asked, pulling back the four layers of blankets. He tucked himself under and hit the pillow with a heavy thud.

"Yes?"

"You ever really think about how this is going to end?" Danny asked, tugging the blankets up and curling underneath. Phantom felt his hear pound through his core, slow and steady as his eyes closed for sleep. "My parents are going to find out about this eventually…and then what?"

"We'll deal with it," Phantom said, tugging the blankets tighter around Danny as he let out a small puff of cold breath. He let go again as Danny drifted off into sleep, mumbling, "Whatever happens we'll stick together."

"Good," Danny said. His words slurred together as he nuzzled his cheek into the pillow. "Would miss you."

"I'd miss you, too, Danny," Phantom said, before relaxing into the dark that feel whenever Danny closed his eyes.


End file.
